Going Green in a Red State
by Lisa McGarry & Margaret Olson
The offices of Hobbs & Olson, LC and Hobbs Mediation are committed to environmentally responsible office practices. All it takes is awareness, a desire to reduce, and a commitment to try. In this article, we share our energy policy with members of the bar in the hope that others will follow.
Have you ever stopped to think about the amount of paper your law office uses and discards? It is an average of 15 tons per year (for a 30 person firm).1 This translates into 300 tons of CO2 emissions per year for production and disposal.2 That’s just the paper. How about ink, electronics, and electricity? We readily purchase shredders and shredding systems to protect our clients’ confidentiality, but are we as willing to adopt environmentally responsible business practices that benefit us all?
Inspired by the initiative and iron will of our founding member, we at Hobbs & Olson, LC and Hobbs Mediation have embarked on an office-wide commitment to reduce consumption and promote conservation with our office practices. The process of identifying and defining how and what to reduce, reuse, and recycle has been fun and contagious. Our staff, clients, and friends are catching on. Through simple policies and procedures, the prevailing consumptive law office culture can be changed with amazing results. We would like to share our “Green Policy” with members of the bar and challenge others to implement similar (or better yet, even more aggressive) energy and resource-saving procedures:
Waste Reduction (Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse)
Goal 1: To reuse and recycle 90% of paper generated
• All desks will have a paper shredding bin that will be processed by a shredding company;
• All desks will have a paper recycling bin that will be processed by Salt Lake City;
• Scrap paper will be used for notes when appropriate.
Goal 2: Reduce the amount of paper used
• Documents will be retained and reviewed in an electronic format whenever possible;
• Double-sided copies, scanning, and email will be utilized whenever possible and appropriate;
• Employees will use personal hand towels in restrooms.
Goal 3: Reduce the amount of kitchen and general office waste
• Kitchen and copy rooms will have a recycling bin for card board, plastic, newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum, tin, paper board, etc.;
• Batteries, electronic equipment, toner, and CFL bulbs will be properly recycled (employees are welcome to bring these specific items from home and other locations to be recycled).
Goal 4: Purchase supplies with increased post consumer recycled content
• Strive for 90% of paper supplies (letterhead, copy paper, envelopes) to contain 30% post consumer recycled content;
• Strive to purchase supplies that are printed with vegetable based inks.
Goal 5: Reuse office furniture and equipment
• The office will purchase and/or donate used furniture when appropriate.
Energy Reduction
Goal: Decrease consumption by 10% per year
• The firm will purchase a minimum of 10% green power;
• Lights and electronic equipment will be turned off nightly (with the exception of the fax machine);
• Computers will be set to sleep mode after 15 minutes of non-use;
• Regular lights will be replaced with CFL bulbs;
• Overhead lighting tubes will be of T8 or T5 efficiency;
• Staff and clients will be challenged to explore/utilize alternative modes of transportation, including human-powered, carpooling, and public transportation;
• Clients who use energy saving transportation, including human-powered, carpooling, or public transportation will be provided with discounted fees for services provided at the offices of Hobbs & Olson.
Water Reduction
Goal: To reduce the amount of water used
• Landscaping will be appropriate for the area.
Earth Friendly Challenges/Pledge
Goal: To share knowledge of conservation choices with staff and clients
• Staff will be encouraged to become E2 Citizens (citizens who are committed to reducing their environmental impact); go to www.slcgreen.com for program information;
• Staff will be encouraged to analyze and attempt to reduce their personal carbon footprint;
• The firm will continue to seek endorsements and memberships to continue learning and reducing its carbon footprint.
We followed, to the extent possible, the ABA EPA Law Office Climate Change Challenge. For details go to www.abanet.org/environ/climatechallenge/overview. We have also followed Salt Lake City’s program for becoming an E2 business. For details go to www.slcgreen.com. We believe we are the first law firm in Utah to achieve these certifications. By the end of 2008, we hope to exponentially increase this number in Utah and among members of the bar. Come on over, we’ll show you how it’s done!
1. See Amy Dvorak, Going Green, 26 ALA News, August-September 2007, at 12.
2. See id.